Giovanni Edson "Eddie" Edward (born September 20, 1988) is a former Canadian

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who played as a defender.

Career

Youth and college

Edward's amateur and collegiate soccer career allowed him to travel across North America. After graduating from the Ottawa Fury's Youth program, Edward began his collegiate duties at the NAIA's

Graceland University Graceland University is a private university with campuses in Lamoni, Iowa, and Independence, Missouri. The university offers degree completion and master's degree programs. It also offers undergraduate and graduate programs online. The univers ...

. In his four years at Graceland, he helped the Jackets to an overall 58–16–8 record while scoring 15 goals and adding 13 assists. In 2006, Edward was part of Graceland's NAIA National Championship-winning squad, while in 2007, he helped the team become Region V and Conference Champions. Edward has also twice been named to the NAIA's Heart of America Athletic All-Conference team, in 2007 and 2008. The Ottawa native is no stranger to the PDL, having traversed the amateur soccer ranks over the past three years with Ottawa Fury (2007, 2009) as well as with the

Des Moines Menace Des Moines Menace is an American soccer team based in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1994, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the United States soccer league system. The Menace have had sustained success in USL Lea ...

in 2008 and Kansas City Brass in 2009. Edward has also featured for the

Kansas City Wizards Sporting Kansas City is an American professional soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. The administrative offices are located in downtown K ...

U19 squad where he led the team in goals helping them reach their first National finals appearance. Edward's ascention to the MLS professional ranks represents only the second-ever Fury player to achieve the feat after

Tyler Hemming Tyler Hemming (born May 9, 1985) is a Canadian former soccer player who played in the Canadian Professional Soccer League, USL Premier Development League, Major League Soccer, Veikkausliiga, USL First Division, and the USSF Division 2. Career ...

played for

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

in 2007-2008.

FC Dallas

Edward signed for

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

club

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The franchise be ...

on March 25, 2010 after training with them during the pre-season. He made his professional debut in a US Open Cup qualifying match, but he had to wait until September 25 for his first MLS appearance, which came against

. Edward was waived by FC Dallas on November 23, 2011.

Puerto Rico Islanders

Edward signed with NASL club

Puerto Rico Islanders The Puerto Rico Islanders were a professional association football team based in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. They played in several different leagues from 2004 to 2012, when they suspended operations. In their last two seasons they played in the Nort ...

on April 5, 2012.

FC Edmonton

After one season with the Islanders, Edward signed with Canadian NASL side

FC Edmonton FC Edmonton was a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club was founded in 2010 and competed in the North American Soccer League (2011–2017), North American Soccer League (NASL) from 2011 t ...

on December 4, 2012.

Ottawa Fury

In June 2016 Edward was released by

and signed with to his hometown club,

Ottawa Fury FC Ottawa Fury Football Club was a Canadian professional soccer club based in Ottawa, Ontario. The club competed in the North American Soccer League and USL Championship and played its home games at TD Place Stadium. The Ottawa Fury FC were di ...

, citing a need to be close to family. Edward was one of three Ottawa area players to sign with the Fury, the others being Maxim Tissot and

Jamar Dixon Jamar Dixon (born June 5, 1989) is a retired Canadian professional soccer player. He currently serves as Manager of Football and Player Development for Canadian Premier League club Pacific FC. Club career Sweden Dixon began his professional car ...

. In November 2016, the Fury announced that they had re-signed Edward, and that he would stay with the club as it moved to the

United Soccer League The United Soccer League (USL) is an organizer of various professional and amateur soccer leagues in the United States league system. It currently organizes its Championship, League One, and League Two for men, its Super League and W Leag ...

for the 2017 season. Edward trained with high performance coach Neil Miron at FTA Complex prior to 2018 season. In November 2017, the Fury announced Edward would remain with the club for the 2018 season.

Career statistics

Club

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Edward, Eddie 1988 births Living people Canadian men's soccer players Canadian expatriate men's soccer players Des Moines Menace players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Expatriate men's footballers in Puerto Rico FC Dallas players FC Edmonton players Graceland University alumni Kansas City Brass players Major League Soccer players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players Ottawa Fury SC players Ottawa Fury FC players USL League Two players Puerto Rico Islanders players Soccer players from Ottawa USL Championship players Men's association football defenders Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Puerto Rico 21st-century Canadian sportsmen